1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to game pieces which include a ferrous metal edge portion, and a magnetic wand for magnetically removing the game pieces from a game board or playing surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many type of games, especially board games, are played using a plurality of small game pieces. The game pieces normally bear some type of indicia, such as alpha-numeric characters or discernible colors, which distinguish the various game pieces, or groups of game pieces from one another. A host of different games are then played according to fixed sets of rules, either with or without a game board, in which the indicia determine, in some part, how the game pieces can be played.
For example, the game of dominoes is played using a plurality of elongated game pieces each bearing numerical indicia in the form of two sets of dots inscribed on either end of the elongated playing piece. The game is played without a game board, with each player alternately placing a game piece adjacent to another game piece according to a fixed set of rules which interrelate the numerical indicia on the game pieces.
Other examples, in this instance games in which a game board is used, are the many types of cross-word-type word games. Perhaps the most popular and familiar game of this type is Scrabble.RTM.. In Scrabble.RTM., a plurality of game pieces in the form of square tiles bearing a single letter of the alphabet and a numerical point value for that letter are used. In play, one or more game pieces are placed on the board by each player, in turn, to spell out approved words. Points are then accumulated using the numerical indicia inscribed on the played game pieces, as well as multiplier indicia inscribed on the game board (e.g., double letter score, double word score, etc.). Often the game board used in such cross word-type games includes a plurality of mating recesses for securely receiving the game pieces. The mating recesses function to ensure that the progressing game is not irretrievably disrupted should the game board be accidentally (or purposefully) jarred or bumped.
An attribute shared by many the above-described games is that each player normally holds a fixed number of game pieces. After each player has made her play, she replenishes her supply of game pieces up to the fixed limit by drawing the requisite number of game pieces from a supply of game pieces. These types of games then often end when there are no more game pieces to be played. For example, in Scrabble.RTM., each player is allowed to hold seven game pieces. After each play, a player is allowed to replenish her cache of game pieces by drawing as many additional game pieces as necessary from a supply to bring her total number of game pieces back to seven. The game ends when there are no game pieces left in the supply, and none of the players can make a play. A similar rule is followed in dominoes, and many other such games.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,852, issued Jun. 3, 1980; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,578, issued Nov. 10, 1981, to P. L. Wayman, describe such a cross-word-type word game. The Wayman patents describe a game in which not only can the play of the game be either solitary or competitive, but the end result of the game is a completed cross-word puzzle array. By compiling a "clue" list to match the words of the completed cross-word puzzle array, a player or players of the Wayman game can author a cross-word puzzle, complete with clues and answers, for another person to play.
As in Scrabble.RTM., this game is played with a plurality of square tiles which are inscribed on their top surfaces with a vowel or a consonant. The game is played on a game board made of a material to which a magnetic material will be attracted. Some of the game tiles have a top surface which is made from a magnetic material. These magnetic tiles are placed inverted (i.e., base up), and used as "blanks" in the cross-word puzzle array. (See Wayman '852, column 3, lines 14-31). When the game board itself is inverted, at the conclusion of a game, the magnetic playing tiles cling to the game board, while the other pieces fall off the board, thereby allowing the pieces to be quickly sorted.
A drawback, however, to having a portion of the game tiles being magnetic is that the magnetic game tiles are then attracted to one another. This causes the magnetic game tiles to clump together, and makes separating the tiles difficult. Additionally, it adds more complexity to the manufacture of the game tiles because a portion of the tiles must be made from a magnetic material, while the remainder of the tiles are made from a non-magnetic material. In contrast, the present invention provides for game pieces which are themselves non-magnetic (and hence will not be magnetically attractive), but which include a ferrous metal portion which will be attracted to a magnetic source, such as a magnetized wand.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,580, issued Jan. 13, 1981, to F. X. Hoyles, discloses a game board which includes a plurality of recesses arranged in a grid. Playing tiles fit matingly within the recesses to play a variety of cross-word-type games.
The playing tiles are made of thin-gage, magnetic carbon steel. In play, the pieces are selected randomly by inserting a magnet-tipped rod into an open-topped container of playing pieces and drawing out a single playing piece. However, because the game pieces are themselves magnetic, the rod will often draw out two (and possibly more) playing pieces. The specification notes that the rules of the game being played can be adapted to allow the player to either use both of the game pieces, or pick just one of the game pieces.
The present invention is distinct from the device described in Hoyles in that the game pieces of the present invention include a non-magnetic ferrous metal peripheral portion, as opposed to the entire playing piece being magnetic. This allows the game pieces to be magnetically removed from a playing surface using a magnet-tipped wand. However, the game pieces themselves are not magnetic. Therefore they will not cling to one another. Because the game pieces are not magnetically attracted to each other, they can be easily removed from a storage area one at a time. But, because of the ferrous metal peripheral portion, the game pieces can be removed en masse from a playing surface using a magnetically active wand.
German Pat. No. 443726, issued May 5, 1927, describes a cross-word-type game in which the playing pieces have a centrally located, flush-mounted metal dot. ("Eisenstifte" or "Metalstifte", literally "iron piece" or "Metal piece", respectively.) The playing pieces can be lifted by the centrally located metal dot using a magnetic rod. Here, the playing pieces are lifted one at a time from a centrally located metal portion. This is in contrast to the present invention, fully described below, in which game pieces can be lifted from a peripheral edge using a magnetic wand.
None of the above references, taken alone, or in any combination, is seen as describing or rendering obvious the presently claimed invention.